Beauty Musings & Rogue Ramblings

Monthly Archives: August 2013

Ohhhh Birchbox… trying to seduce my inner control freak? Well, at least that was the apparent goal of July’s box of goods that were selected to “help you take control” of any situation. Meh. Sort of.

I was initially excited about the July box because they were partnered with SUITS!! And I love that show, BUT…

I may be a tad harsh on Birchbox in this moment considering they forgot to include my “Suits Pick!” I should have received theBalm cosmetics InStain Long-Wearing Powder Staining Blush, but it was missing! Being a fan of Suits and theBalm brand I was a bit peeved to not receive my product.

Granted, Birchbox did give me 100 Birchbox points for the mishap, but that only equals to $10 and the product retails for $22 – so not enough to buy one. I guess something is better than nothing though.

Onto what I did receive…

1//

My favorite product of the bunch was the Number 4 Super Comb Prep & Protect Leave-in Conditioner! LOVED THIS STUFF! Seriously. No seriously loved it. With my very long, quite curly hair, hydration/ conditioning and all that are high on my list of hair needs, and this made a noticeable difference after the first use. Not something that happens very often. Total hair ends transformation, at least for me. It also has UV (and color protection) – to me that’s a great bonus benefit!

Though in thinking about it, I have also tried the Number 4 Reconstructing Masque and it was amazing as well. The only reason I don’t buy the masque is the price tag, but the leave-in conditioner is definitely more wallet friendly!

The only downfall is the smell. It is supposed to be floral, but comes across more artificial blueberry-clay-ish to me (sorry, bad scent description). Though the scent doesn’t linger. Full Size Value: $32 USD (200 ml).

2//

The extra in the July box were a set of Birchbox Bobby Pins. Heavy duty (needs a little extra effort to open and slide onto hair), strong, extra wide bobby pins with a cute print. You can get a set of six (6) pins for $5.

3//

The next product I can’t really judge on because, thankfully I haven’t had much of a need for it as my skin has been behaving quite well. It is the DDF Acne Control Treatment. Technically a night treatment with Salicylic Acid that you can apply up to 3 times a day. It is non-comedogenic and paraben-free, though again, I can’t judge on its effectiveness considering I haven’t had a need to test it yet. Here’s a little more info:

Full Size Value: $44 USD (1.7 oz). It has some good reviews, so I’m happy to have the product to try the next time I need a little skin savior.

4//

Finally, I received a little sample pot of the Benefit it’s potent! eye cream. I was a little wary of this one at first, considering I tried the face cream from the same line and had a bad reaction, but luckily that was not the case with the eye cream. It is a good eye cream, hydrating, but not greasy and sinks into skin quickly. It has a “peptide complex known to help restore elasticity & firmness, a blend of hydrating botanical extracts and loquat extract, known to help protect the skin from free radical damage.” It is supposed to help lighten dark circles and help with fine lines, but I haven’t witnessed anything along those lines yet, not that I have too much to correct (plus I use a different night cream – one I will not give up). Full Size Value: $34 USD (0.5 oz).

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I have received plenty of samples of BB Creams, high end and drugstore brands, but so far I haven’t found one that I have wanted to rave about or actually buy, and unfortunately, the Olay Fresh Effects {BB Cream!} falls into that group too, but hear me out before you opt to pass on it too. I was bummed honestly, I had some high hopes for it, as I’m a fan of the Olay brand (for the most part) and have used many of their products in the past before switching to my current regimen.

You do get a hefty amount of product at 2.5 fl oz in a standard easy squeeze tube and all for $12.99, which is practically a steal. The Olay Fresh Effects {BB Cream!} does have a light and fresh floral fragrance to it with hints of that sunscreen scent, so fair warning to those against scented facial products. The scent isn’t bad at all in my opinion and does fade fairly quickly, but upon first application you definitely get quite a bit of it.

So the Olay Fresh Effects {BB Cream!} has six claims and I figure it would be best to take them one by one…

• Refreshes skin instantly – True! When applied to your skin it instantly has that quenching freshening feeling.• Brightens for a radiant glow – Kind of! The cream has a slight sheen to it (no shimmer or glitter or any of that nonsense that I absolutely abhor in moisturizers) and maybe with continued successful use, its ingredients may help in that natural healthy skin glow.• Evens tone with a splash of sheer color – Not really! On the coverage scale Olay Fresh Effects {BB Cream!} at a 2 out of 10, and that’s pushing it. It simply doesn’t have the coverage to even out anything more than very minor tone imperfections.• Hydrates for 24 hours – True, I think! It does have long-lasting hydration, though I never actually tested out for longer than about 12 hours/ day before washing my face and using my night products.• Smoothes for softer feeling skin – True! Though this should be true for any moisturizer.• Protects against UV damage with SPF 15 – Obviously true! Though I wish it had a higher SPF than a measly 15 honestly.

Okay and now for the main reason I didn’t love the Olay Fresh Effects {BB Cream!} >I had a poor reaction to it. It’s rare for me to have a bad reaction to products, sensitive is not a word I’d use to describe my skin usually, but something in the Olay Fresh Effects {BB Cream!} made my skin breakout after a few days of use, which then resulted in me having to rehab my skin back to normal.

I attempted to give it another try, but my skin started reacting the same way and I abandoned the Olay Fresh Effects {BB Cream!} for the sake of my skin hating me again. Due to this I can’t judge it on any long-term benefits or claims.

I will say that it should be suitable to all skin types, as it does sink in fairly well, but I’d offer a word of caution to combination or oily skin gals as it seems like the type of produce that could potentially slip right off your face.

A major negative to me is their range: fair/light and light/medium and that’s it?! Even though I fall into the latter, it really excludes a large group of the market there.

My nails are in a horrid state… so lets overlook that. The SinfulColors SinfulShine Collection is supposed to have “oppulant rich color and superb shine” in fact 5x the shine of their regular polish and its totally does! I took the photo above BEFORE applying my topcoat.

So to say that it leaves a shiny finish is practically an understatement. It also leaves a nearly opaque finish after one coat, so two coats is perfect. It’s definitely nice not having to apply multiple coats just to get the color you bought.

The SinfulShine range goes for $2.99 a bottle, a bargain in comparison to most brands.

I received the shade “Set the Mood” that comes across as a deep teal in the bottle, but sets a tad closer to navy on your nails.

If you’re a nail junkie or need a new shiny shade for a new season, I’d definitely give the SinfulShine range a try. You can pick them up at most Walgreens or online.